Finding the time... in Xi'an

The one thing that money can’t buy is time. Sure, you can buy a plane ticket to save time, or even hire a helicopter if you have the means, but when you have to get to your destination - over 1000km away- the next day, and are told the only option is a hard seat in an overnight train, you wish you could buy time. Just one extra day to explore one of China’s most important cities, Xi’an, would have given us the flexibility to book a sleeper train for the next day, but with five days left in China and two cities left to see, we couldn’t wait that long. Time wasn’t for sale.

Needless to say, our night train to Xi’an from Zhangjiajie was probably one of the most difficult train journeys of my life (and I have spent a lot of my life on the train over the last six months). The combination of a hard, lumpy seat, a crowded carriage (although this did mean even more Chinese people kindly sharing their fruit with us, as they always do), passengers snoring or smoking and the constant noise from snack vendors passing through the carriage throughout the night made the 17 hour journey feel eternal. Travelling isn’t always wonderful. We somehow made it to Xi’an the next morning, and with no time to waste headed straight out to visit one of China’s major attractions: The Terracotta Army. “Must see” sights always worry me, as the pressure to feel 'overwhelmed with awe' is quite overwhelming in itself. And of course, other travellers constantly warning you of overrated tourist traps make for a negative frame of mind before visiting any attraction of international acclaim. So, with the fear of disappointment in mind, I went to see these stone soldiers with the sole aim of learning about the most astonishing archaeological discovery of the twentieth century - with no expectations. After all, a pessimist is never disappointed.

We hired a guide outside the museum and proceeded to bombard her with questions before we had even reached the entrance of the museum, exposing our complete lack of research. The guide, in turn, patiently explained how the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang was buried just 2km west of where we stood: a ruler so extravagant that he ordered the creation of an entire army of baked clay to protect him in the afterlife. Walking into the first vault, our tour guide raised her voice to make herself audible over the familiar drone of tourists, while we lowered our gaze until it was met with thousands and thousands of eyes looking back at us. Travelling is sometimes wonderful.

It was hard to believe that these terracotta representations of soldiers gloriously posing before us were built over two thousand years ago; but, for me, what’s even harder to fathom is that they were buried with the intention of never being found. The intricate detail of each individual warrior, from his physical build, facial expression and elaborate hairstyle to his uniform according to rank make this ancient work of funerary art truly fascinating.

Try to imagine the wax sculptures of Madame Tussauds being buried alongside the Queen of England, to then be found accidentally by farmers digging for water two millennia later, and perhaps you can begin to understand the beautifully bizarre nature of this ancient Chinese tradition, presented to the world as a result of pure chance. Reflecting on the museum now, I realise my earlier fears about the impact the statues would or wouldn’t have on me were actually beside the point. The simple fact that a huge work of historical, yet timeless art was stumbled upon 200 decades after its completion is pretty exciting! The original detail and sophisticated restoration techniques are a bonus... that this insight into the past was uncovered only forty years ago is even more exciting. Worrying about falling into 'tourist traps' when there's an opportunity to learn about the world first-hand? Now that’s overrated.

Once the shattered pieces are put together, each statue takes around 3 - 5 months to restore, depending on how badly damaged it is. See the link above to find out about the exhausting restoration process.

Guess what I found out in Xi'an?

1. The first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, united China for the first time in 221BC. The Terraccotta Army he ordered 70,000 artists and workmen to create was not only supposed to protect him in the afterlife, but also meant to serve as a lavish reminder of the military force that triumphed in uniting the country.

2. Qin Shi Huang's tomb, 2km away from the terracotta army he had built, is supposedly a a "world with mountains made of gold, stars represented by pearls, jewels, and flowing rivers of mercury" that took around 40 years to complete. It is believed he had an entire city built around his grave with underground caverns containing everything the emperor would need for the afterlife.

3. The reason the tomb hasn't been excavated is that scientists have found that there are indeed deadly amounts of mercury in the area. Until the right technology can be found to allow archaeologists to dig up the contaminated area, the emperor will remain undisturbed.